By EMS1 Staff
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A driver who was texting before a fatal February crash that killed a paramedic pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
WTVR.com reported that Samuel Allebaugh II admitted he was texting while driving when his dump truck crashed into a car driven by paramedic Karen Giles. Allebaugh was sentenced to nine years in prison and must complete 125 hours of community service related to raising awareness about distracted driving/texting.
Prosecutors said he was sending and receiving texts from his girlfriend, which caused him to veer off the road. He then overcorrected and went into oncoming traffic, hitting Giles’ car.
At the scene, he told officers he had been texting but Allebaugh had already deleted his texts. A digital forensic scan later found two texts that had been deleted right before the crash, according to the report.
“She was always there for me. It didn’t matter what she had going on. If I called her, she would drop everything to help me or do whatever she can for me,” Meredith Spies, Giles’ daughter, said. “I know she loved me and my husband and our kids.
In court, Spies said she forgave Allebaugh.
“I don’t think it was ever anything intentional on his part, so, for me to forgive him wasn’t anything that was difficult,” she said.
In response, Allebaugh apologized to Giles’ family, saying he knew that “no words I can say to express my sorrow and remorse.”
Giles was a 30-year veteran paramedic for the Amelia Emergency Squad.